Newbie question... need suggestion for OTA HD antenna

[DssMigs]

Newbie here just getting into HD. I just bought a Samsung 40" LCD HDTV and I also just got a used Dish PVR 921. I want to hook-up an OTA antenna to my 921 to get my local HD channels.

My zip code is 94545. Antenna web shows that a good majority of the local broadcasting towers are at 280 degrees and about 21 miles from my location. There is one tower that is at 268 degrees, 18.6 miles away and is on VHF. All the others are UHF. The one tower at 268 is my local NBC station so I would really like to include it if possible.

Which OTA antenna would you guys recommend for my viewing needs....?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[brantlew]

You are in a pretty strong signal area so you can probably get away just using an indoor omni-directional antenna. There are several stylish and decent ones you can pick up at Circuit City. A friend of mine uses the PHDTV3 at about a 20 mile range here in Austin with fairly good results. That's the easy route and I would start there if I were you because if it works, then your task is done. If it doesn't work then you can always return it and start down the more difficult path.

 

[DssMigs]

You are in a pretty strong signal area so you can probably get away just using an indoor omni-directional antenna. There are several stylish and decent ones you can pick up at Circuit City. A friend of mine uses the PHDTV3 at about a 20 mile range here in Austin with fairly good results. That's the easy route and I would start there if I were you because if it works, then your task is done. If it doesn't work then you can always return it and start down the more difficult path.

Hmmm... I may have to look into that PHDTV3. Don't know if I like the idea of having a set of rabbit ears though.

Any suggestions for an outdoor antenna....? I'd mount in on a post cemented into the ground that my Dish Network dish will be mounted to as well....

 

[brantlew]

Hmmm... I may have to look into that PHDTV3. Don't know if I like the idea of having a set of rabbit ears though.

Any suggestions for an outdoor antenna....? I'd mount in on a post cemented into the ground that my Dish Network dish will be mounted to as well....

If the VHF channel is high enough in the spectrum then in all likelihood you may be able to get away with just leaving the rabbit ears tucked under the unit and just utilizing the UHF portion of the antenna.

I know several great outdoor UHF antennas, but unfortunately I don't know much about combo-antennas. Most metros only broadcast digital in the UHF range which makes it much easier for everyone.

It's going to suck in 2009 if all these stations return their broadcasts to VHF and screw up all the antenna installations that people have carefully tuned.

 

[DssMigs]

I think I may try the Philips Silver Sensor Indoor HDTV Antenna PHDTV1. It doesn't have VHF capability but there's only one of my local HD stations that's VHF. All the rest are UHF. Circuit City has the PHDTV1 for $24.99. If I doesn't work, I'll take it back and try something else.

I'm still open to suggestions for an outdoor UHF/VHF antenna.

 

[brantlew]

I think I may try the Philips Silver Sensor Indoor HDTV Antenna PHDTV1. It doesn't have VHF capability but there's only one of my local HD stations that's VHF. All the rest are UHF. Circuit City has the PHDTV1 for $24.99. If I doesn't work, I'll take it back and try something else.

I'm still open to suggestions for an outdoor UHF/VHF antenna.

I have that antenna and its nice for testing things out but I found it to be fairly directional and I had to manually turn it to pick up various stations.

 

[DssMigs]

I have that antenna and its nice for testing things out but I found it to be fairly directional and I had to manually turn it to pick up various stations.

Ya, I read that about the antenna as well. From the info I got on antennaweb, all of my local HD channels except for one (which is the VHF one), are all at 180. So I should be ok as far as not having to move the antenna around once I get good reception.

 

[raoul5788]

I think I may try the Philips Silver Sensor Indoor HDTV Antenna PHDTV1. It doesn't have VHF capability but there's only one of my local HD stations that's VHF. All the rest are UHF. Circuit City has the PHDTV1 for $24.99. If I doesn't work, I'll take it back and try something else.

I'm still open to suggestions for an outdoor UHF/VHF antenna.

It looks like the only vhf is KNTV dt, which is channel 12. The Channel Master 4228 is very good at picking up high vhf stations. With them all so close in direction, you may not even need a rotor. I pick up channel 10 and 12 here in CT with no problem, usually from the back of the antenna since the other locals are in the other direction.
Good luck!

 

[charper1]

Another vote / vouch for the Channel Master CM4228

 

[DssMigs]

Another vote / vouch for the Channel Master CM4228

Looks like I'll go ahead and order up a Channel Master 4228.

I had made a mistake in my original top post. The local towers in my area are at 280, not 180. The one VHF (KNTV NBC) tower is at 268. So only 12 degrees from all the UHF other towers. It sounds like the 4228 should be able to tune in that tower at 268. The VHF tower is actually about 2 miles closer to me as well at about 19 miles. While all the rest of the UHF towers are about 21 miles away.

 

[DssMigs]

Hmmmm.... another newbie question.... Would the 4228 actually give me "too much" signal....? Would the 4221 be a better choice...? Espeically since I'm less than 25 miles away from the broadcasting towers. Will the 4221 also pick up the higher VHF channels like the 4228 does...? I basically just want to be able to buy the right antenna the first time around. Although I know part of this hobby is trial and error.

What are your thoughs guys...?

I could probably live without the one VHF channel although it is NBC. I can still watch the NBC channel through my Dish 921 sat receiver which can upconvert SD channels. Although I haven't hooked it up yet to see what kind of job it does with it's upconversion process.

 

[lunkie]

If your channel 12 is about 18 miles from you the 4221 should work. It has about -5 db gain at that channel but so does the 4228. The gain of the 4228 picks up below ch 12. Make sure you have a clear shot at their tower, no trees, tall buildings. The beamwidth of the 4221 is somewhat wide so aimming it won't be as bad. You shouldn't need a preamp either, with a clear shot. The 4221 is a uhf antenna and should have no problem picking up the other uhf stations. If you'd like to see some gain / beam width numbers; http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html

 

[DssMigs]

If your channel 12 is about 18 miles from you the 4221 should work. It has about -5 db gain at that channel but so does the 4228. The gain of the 4228 picks up below ch 12. Make sure you have a clear shot at their tower, no trees, tall buildings. The beamwidth of the 4221 is somewhat wide so aimming it won't be as bad. You shouldn't need a preamp either, with a clear shot. The 4221 is a uhf antenna and should have no problem picking up the other uhf stations. If you'd like to see some gain / beam width numbers; http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html

I just got back from Circuit City a little while ago. I ended up picking up a Philips Silver Sensor PHDTV1. I figure for $24.99 I'd try it out first. If it doesn't work, I'll return it and get a Channel Master 4221 or 4228. I'm still debating about which one to get (4221 or 4228) if the Philips doesn't work. I actually don't have a clear shot to the tower. My neighbors second story is somewhat in the line of sight but not completely. With that in mind... which would be the better choice for me, the 4221 or 4228...?

By the way... I won't be able to try out the Philips antenna til tomorrow. I'm at my girlfriends house right now

 

[raoul5788]

I just got back from Circuit City a little while ago. I ended up picking up a Philips Silver Sensor PHDTV1. I figure for $24.99 I'd try it out first. If it doesn't work, I'll return it and get a Channel Master 4221 or 4228. I'm still debating about which one to get (4221 or 4228) if the Philips doesn't work. I actually don't have a clear shot to the tower. My neighbors second story is somewhat in the line of sight but not completely. With that in mind... which would be the better choice for me, the 4221 or 4228...?

By the way... I won't be able to try out the Philips antenna til tomorrow. I'm at my girlfriends house right now

Antennas are funny. Sometimes the smaller one is better when you think the bigger one would be. IOW, trial and error! Try the Silver Sensor, it may be all that you need.

 

[Tower Guy]

My zip code is 94545. Antenna web shows that a good majority of the local broadcasting towers are at 280 degrees and about 21 miles from my location. There is one tower that is at 268 degrees, 18.6 miles away and is on VHF. All the others are UHF. Which OTA antenna would you guys recommend for my viewing needs....?

The Winegard Square Shooter! It has an usual VHF antenna pattern skewed counterclockwise that actually is perfect for your location. If you mount it on the roof, the preamp model shouldn't be needed.
http://www.winegard.com/offair/pdf/WC-811.pdf

 

[oljim]

Get the 4228

 

[DssMigs]

Antennas are funny. Sometimes the smaller one is better when you think the bigger one would be. IOW, trial and error! Try the Silver Sensor, it may be all that you need.

The Winegard Square Shooter! It has an usual VHF antenna pattern skewed counterclockwise that actually is perfect for your location. If you mount it on the roof, the preamp model shouldn't be needed.
http://www.winegard.com/offair/pdf/WC-811.pdf

Get the 4228

LOL... thanks for all the replies and info guys. Sounds like everyone has their favorites. I'll try this Philips indoor antenna that I bought last night. I'm at work right now... went straight to work from my girlfriends house this morning. I'll report back here a little later today with my results.

If the Philips doesn't work it's really going to be a toss-up between the Winegard Square Shooter, the 4228, or the 4221... I really need to decide soon since I'll be doing the install of my sat dish this coming Friday. Which means I'd like to have my OTA antenna by then too. I have to allow for delivery time since it'll need to be ordered. I'll be cementing a pole into the ground for my sat dish. Whatever OTA antenna will be mounted to the pole as well above the sat dish. I really like the looks and simplicity of that Winegard.

 

[DssMigs]

Update....

So I went home for lunch to try out the Philips Silver Sensor indoor antenna that I bought last night at Circuit City. I'm actually pretty impressed to be honest. My Samsang 40" LCD HDTV doesn't have a percentage on it's signal meter, it has signal bars. I think there are about 6 bars total, I was able to get about 4-5 with the indoor antenna.

I must say though... I'm somewhat confused. The digital (HD) channels seem to come up on my screen in a 4:3 format. Even though my tv is set to 16:9. Even the channel info that comes up on the screen when I tune to a channel shows 16:9. My tv has 2 zoom settings for the 16:9 format but they are greyed out when I have the input set for the OTA antenna. When I switch my antenna input to cable, all the channels are automatically stretched to the 16:9 format of the screen.

Can anyone elaborate on what might be going on here....?

My Samsung is a LN-S4092D.

 

[gdarwin]

If the station is not transmitting a HD program it will look like 4:3. Watch NCIS or Law and Order tonight and you will see real HD.

 

[DssMigs]

If the station is not transmitting a HD program it will look like 4:3. Watch NCIS or Law and Order tonight and you will see real HD.

Thanks gdarwin, you were right...!!!

Just got home from work.... All I can say is... WOW....!!! Fox is broadcasting the Giants game, CBS has on some golf, and ABC has a soccer game on. They're all broadcasting in HD. CBS has the golf game on in 1080i. I can believe the picture coming from a little indoor $25 antenna. It's kinda weird on FOX when they go to commercial... the commercials switch to 4:3 format. Guess they only broadcast the game in HD and not the commercials.

So with that being said, I don't think I can live without having the one NBC channel that's on VHF. I'm gonna go ahead and go with an outdoor OTA antenna. The million dollar question is.... which one should I get...???!!!

You guys have suggested the 4228, 4221, and the Square Shooter. Keep in mind that I do not have a completely clear line of sight with the tower(s). My next door neighbor has a small tree that "might" get in the way of the signal but it's only the very outer branches of the tree. My other neighbor that is diagonally across from me has a 2-story house. It looks like the very corner of the second story might be in the signal path for the UHF stations at 280 degrees, and the whole second story would more than likely be in the way at 268 degrees for the one VHF station I want to reveive (NBC KNTV-11/channel 12). Also, I will be using a diplexer with the OTA cable along with the cable coming from my sat dish. It will also be a cable run of about +or- 75 ft. Both my sat dish and my OTA antenna will be mounted on a pole that will be cemented in the ground. With all that information in mind.... which antenna should I get...???!!!